Thomas turned back around to look at her. “It’s okay, you found it so read it first, and then pass it on to me to read. Have a good evening.”
Then he was gone, just like that.
Later, after she checked on Lucas to make sure he was asleep, Mack headed downstairs to make a cup of hot chocolate. She’d already showered and changed into her pajamas, but her mind wasn’t ready for sleep yet.
After an exhausting dinner, and an amusing evening spent entertaining Lucas, all she wanted to do was climb into bed and read the diary she’d found.
Sipping the hot chocolate, she headed back upstairs to the bedroom and switched on the lamp. She kept her door slightly ajar to listen for Lucas as she settled into her bed. Then she picked up the diary and turned it to the first page.
Chapter 3
This is the diary of a Rose!
March 4, 1947
My name is Rose and I am 19 years old.
This is my first diary. After the events of yesterday, I have decided I must keep one.
Yesterday was a very exciting day in Cape Elizabeth, and in my life, because I met the most handsome man . . .
I worked in the town library, and today I was in the history section dusting the shelves and the books. It really was the worst job Mr. Young, my boss, could give anyone, and for some reason he seemed to like giving it to me.
At the nine mark, my brother JT nearly knocked me off my ladder as he came running around the corner. He was so out of breath that I started to panic. “JT, what is it? Is everyone all right?” I asked.
“Sis, will you take me to watch the rescue at sea?”
“What are you talking about?” JT had been known to spin a yarn now and again.
“Walt said a collier ship has gone aground just past the Cape because of the storm. Please, will you take me?”
I could tell Mr. Young a little white lie, it wasn’t as though I was busy, and the dust would still be there tomorrow. That decided, I took JT by the hand and briefly left him with Emma while I went in search of Mr. Young to tell him I was sick with a ‘female’ problem.
Not long after, I walked out of his office and couldn’t help but smile; he’d reacted as I thought he would. First, he’d turned bright red like a strawberry and then he’d plopped down in his chair. He probably hoped I wasn’t about to divulge any further details.
We walked alongside each other as we, like most of the town, headed toward the cliffs.
As we approached, we could hear everyone cheering. It sounded more like a party rather than a rescue.
Sarah, a friend from school, was standing not too far away with her older sister, so we walked over to them, which was getting rather difficult with JT trying to pull me in a different direction.
“Sis, I want to go over there to Walt and Levi,” JT said, tugging on my hand for the umpteenth time.
“Let me go and talk to Sarah first to find out what’s going on. Then I’ll take you over there, okay?”
I ignored JT while he moaned and grumbled about why he always had to do what the grown-ups told him to do.
“Sarah, what’s happening here?” I asked after we finished hugging. Sarah was the friendliest of people and always ‘hugged.’ She used to make me feel uncomfortable but, after a while, I enjoyed the familiarity.
“They’re rescuing crew members at the moment, and whenever they bring them safely to shore, everyone cheers.”
“I wonder if they need help with anything,” I said, only to have Sarah’s sister scowl at me. Miss Prim-and-Proper Matilda.
Finally, after about ten minutes of making polite conversation, I let JT steer me toward Levi and Walt, his two best friends and, on more than one occasion, partners in crime.
There was still a bit of a chill in the air, so I kept moving around to keep the chill at bay while trying to keep my eye on JT. There was enough commotion without JT and his friends causing any more trouble.
When I looked around, not too far away, in the distance, was a really tall handsome man, who was looking straight at me. I couldn’t move; he had me hypnotized. Wow! I had never felt anything like that before. I was frozen to the spot. When he started to walk toward me, my heart started to flutter madly in my chest.